And I'm THAT girl....

I have to share this quick story with you, in hopes that you'll laugh with me, lest I cry.... ;-)

Yesterday evening after dinner, I'd already changed into pajamas, and Brian all of a sudden wasn't feeling too hot. Being the fantastic wife that I am, I offered to run to CVS and pick up some ginger ale for him. CVS is literally down the block from our house, so this wasn't a big deal.

I was wearing pajamas, as I mentioned, consisting of a night shirt and pajama pants. Quickly, I pulled on a Tech hoodie sweatshirt (to avoid putting on a bra...) and my galoshes since my pajama pants hit me at mid-calf (I didn't want there to be a giant gap between my pants and shoes...) Clearly, I was looking awesome.

So I run to CVS. As I'm walking in, a VERY pregnant chick and her friend are leaving the counter. I think to myself "Oh man, she looks tired!", and I smile sweetly at her, commiserating in her pain, as I pass by.

Not two seconds after they pass me, I hear very loud laughter, and one of them hooting "What was she wearing?!?!" and "Oh my gosh!" and "Does she own a mirror?!?!"

Wow. Now, I wasn't too embarrassed because I KNEW that I was looking quite horrific, and let's be honest, I will never see those gals again. BUT. I was THAT girl. The one that people pass by and then look at their friends and laugh at!!! And while I know that homeschooled kids are far better socialized these days, I looked like that girl who doesn't get out of her house much and therefore has no idea what to put on when she leaves.

Awesome.

Brian immediately felt better when I told him this story.

Blessed Beyond Measure...

Do you ever look around in a certain moment and your breath is simply taken away by all the love that surrounds you? I had one of those moments on Saturday, in the midst of screaming kids, chaos and family. I wouldn't have had it any other way!

My sweet aunts and cousins hosted a family shower for us this past weekend, and although we were missing a very important chunk of family who couldn't make it, we were beyond blessed to get to spend time with a good percentage of my dad's side of the family. Brian and I figured out that the last time this many of us were together was our wedding, over six years ago!

After opening gifts and eating (yummy!) cake, the kids were running around and my dad and his brothers were vying for the kids attention with farm animal noises, and we cousins were negotiating where to eat. And I just had a moment in which I couldn't have been more grateful for the family that God has given us. We are so loved, and so cared for, and we could never thank God enough for this amazing blessing. Thank you so much to all of our family who traveled to spend time with us this weekend in celebration.


Precious Table! The cake matched the invitation perfectly!


Bean's first stuffed animals!


My beautiful aunt and cousins (Aunt Martha, Lou & Lucy)


Merrick (cousin's daughter) and I by the table


Getting some help unwrapping gifts


It's a boppy!


SHUT THE FRONT DOOR!!! Early last week, I was looking for something on our registry, and discovered that our carseat was completely out of stock. I called BabiesRUs and they recommended we register for a different carseat. We did, but I was still in LOVE with this pattern. Imagine my surprise when we received the carseat we had originally registered for!!! (My incredibly resourceful Aunt Martha found it on Amazon! Holler!)


Mommy-and-Daddy-to-be!


Okay. We're THAT family! We went to Babe's for dinner, and when a great song came on, we got up and danced! That's my mom, me, Merrick and my grandmother who can still shake it awfully well!


Oh yeah. My cousin Mike, a more easily embarrassed member of our family, with my dad, who is NOT easily embarrassed, and who loves to cut a rug! ;-)

Thank you, thank you, thank you to our family who has made this special time even more incredible! We love you!! (And I promise, as soon as we determine a name, we will let you know!!)

31 Weeks

Happy New Year!!

I can't believe that it's 2011. I can't believe that we're having a baby this year. Wowza. We were SO blessed to get spend TEN days with my family before Christmas and then through New Years. AND, we got to spend New Year's Eve with my sweet friend old Morgan (my bestie in high school and Maid of Honor at our wedding!), her hubby, a couple of their friends, and my dear friend Kobi from high school. So much fun!

I've been relatively healthy throughout this pregnancy, until the week prior to Christmas, when I came down with some serious congestion. I should have known- they don't let you take any of the good drugs when you're preggers, so I lived with it and got over it in a couple of days. (Brian subsequently came down with the same stuff a few days later, and his developed into a sinus and double ear infection which he suffered with through the day AFTER Christmas. No fun.)

Then, I came down with a stomach bug on Tuesday between Christmas and New Years. Again, nothing really that you can do except let it pass. Luckily, no one seems to have caught this lovely little treasure. And, now, I'm dealing with some more congestion and yucky cough, but at least I don't feel that bad this time around...

So, I stole this little summary thingy from my friend Janet's blog... Thought I would give you the nitty gritty details of what's going on with the pregnancy... As if I ever talk about anything else... Thanks, Janet!!

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: 31 weeks

Size of baby: Roughly 3 1/2 lbs, about the size of four navel oranges, according to babycenter.com!

Total Weight Gain/Loss: I believe I've gained about 15 lbs. thus far since the very beginning

Maternity Clothes: Duh.

Gender: Boy!! No, we have not decided on a name yet. It's a daily conversation in our house, and we try out different names every day to see how we like the ones on our top 4 list. Brian still doesn't think we've found "THE" name yet. I do, but he's not convinced...

Movement: Is a little less active this week than he was in the last few weeks. I'm assuming this is because he's getting bigger and has less room to move around. But he's still the most active after my morning half caff and right before bed.

Sleep: Oh man. With congestion AND the belly getting bigger, this is becoming more of a challenge!! I'm pretty sore when I wake up in the morning, but I'm not having to get up to go to the bathroom more than once a night (yet...)

What I miss: Sleeping comfortably with no problem at all. And wine!! Oh, Lord, do I ever miss wine!!

Cravings: Brian was just pointing out that I haven't had any really interesting cravings... I HAD to have a peach cobbler one night, and I had to have Lindsay's corn bread one night, but other than that, I've just enjoyed food in general, especially the sweet stuff!! ;-)

Symptoms: Sore pubic bones, boobs changing, sore back

Pictures from this week:



31 weeks and 3 days along!



Close up, in case you didn't really get that I'm quite large...